Everton defender Pennington offered permanent contract by Shrewsbury
Everton defender Matthew Pennington has been offered a permanent contract with League One club Shrewsbury Town.
The 26-year old centre-back spent the season on loan with the Shrews, playing regularly for Steve Cotterill’s side.
With his Everton contract set to expire at the end of the season and with no extension talks likely to take place, Pennington has been offered an exit route out of Goodison Park.
Pennington joined Everton as an 11-year old back in 2005 however he only managed to make nine senior appearances for the Toffees, spending most of his time with the club out on loan, having enjoyed spells with Leeds, Coventry and Ipswich.
Now the former England youth international has been handed the opportunity to join a club on a permanent basis and play there regularly.
Speaking about Pennington’s future (as reported by the Liverpool Echo), Cotterill said: “I think Matthew Pennington has been an excellent professional since he walked through the door.
“He had a bit of a wobbly start but hadn’t played a lot of football if you look at him in the last 18 months.
“He has progressed, he’s still a young boy, whether we agree on terms or not I haven’t got the answers to that yet.
“It’s always handy when you can get a few more goals which we’ve seen from Aaron Pierre and how important his goals have been.
“Matthew Pennington has managed to make that a little forte of his own of late which I’m pleased with.”
Inevitable departure
It has always been quite surprising to see just how long Matthew Pennington has remained an Everton player given that he has barely ever been considered a first-team player worth giving minutes to.
The 26-year old has been farmed out to loan club after loan club with no real long-term plan in place, and that doesn’t particularly put the club in strong light.
Pennington was always likely to struggle for minutes at Goodison Park, with Michael Keane, Mason Holgate, Yerry Mina and Ben Godfrey making up the senior options.
Additionally starlets Jarrad Branthwaite and Lewis Gibson are held in high regard by the club, while an even less experienced defender Reece Welch recently made the bench for the Blues.
Fortunately in Shrewsbury Pennington seems to have found a location that he has settled in, having played frequently this season as well as having impressed manager Steve Cotterill. Should he decide to move to the New Meadow, hopefully he’ll find some success.
In other Everton news, the Toffees are reportedly willing to shell out £21m for 24y/o defender open to Everton switch.
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